1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to boat hulls of the kind having a screw propeller located amidship and an open bottom channel or trough, and an arrangement to produce uplifting forces facilitating shallow draft travel and maneuverability with the boat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Man has traversed the waterways and oceans of the world virtually since the dawn of recorded history. Such as been accomplished for a multitude of purposes, including fishing, commerce and travel; and in virtually all instances, boats of various types and constructions have been employed. As a consequence, the boat building art is extremely old and well developed.
The most typical example of small powered boats of this century include an elongated hull presenting a bow and a stern, along with a rotatable propeller positioned at the stern of the boat below the normal water line. The propeller is rotatable through the medium of a motor, which may be of the outboard or inboard type. While this type of boat is extremely common, it presents a number of problems. For example, all such conventional boats must operate in sufficient depth of water to prevent the propeller from scraping bottom. However, as the propeller is rotated at greater speeds, there is a tendency to lift the bow of the boat, thereby forcing the stern deeper into the water. Therefore, in shallow water boat operators must be careful not to unduly accelerate, else the propeller will strike bottom, possibly causing severe damage. As a consequence, operations in shallow water are severely restricted and considerable skill is needed to prevent untoward accidents.
It has been suggested in the past to mount boat propellers at various locations other than the stern; see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,636,906, 2,269,801 and 872,389, which illustrate midship mounted boat motors.
Catamaran-type boats have also been provided which basically include a pair of hull sections separated by an open area. These boats are generally of rather limited utility, being used primarily as pleasure craft.
Other prior patents depicting various types of boat constructions include U.S. Pat. Nos. 815,187, 3,548,428, 2,844,120, 3,469,549, 2,344,619 and 3,648,640.
Despite the multitude of prior boat constructions, however, there remains a decided need in the art for a very shallow draft, highly maneuverable boat which can be used for pleasure or commercial purposes (e.g., fishing or shrimping), while nevertheless being relatively low in cost and simple in construction.